in the charter. i believe that does not change the legality of the language. i'm curious to know. commissioner lee: i wanted to give you as much time as needed, but i'd like you to finish up comments. >> thank you, sir. i will talk fast. commissioner lee: you had a total of two minutes. >> i thought it was three minutes. commissioner lee: yes, but you have used three. >> again, it is only a page and a half. let me see where i am. ok, we will move on to the director's malfeasance, which is of course the more important topic. i think the problem goes further. i think she -- commissioner lee: can you get to

the chase? can i make a suggestion? maybe we have that printed out and we will read it on our time. commissioner walker: the time for public comment is exceeded. maybe in the future, i would like to agendize a city and the attorney response. >> i feel you are trying to muscle my complaints about the department. i feel that is inappropriate. i would like to state that right here. i will put the statement in writing and forward it for your review. i hope you take it all too hard. there is a really good language in here. i would like to let everyone else know about this. thank you for that. vice president mar: thank you. >> good morning.

my name is nancy. i understand that the building inspection commission will change its name to the department of building safety. i support this change in name. if the name change means anything substantive, there must be a serious commitment to the enforcement of the building code. i requested you also create procedures to respond quickly to urgent complaints from the public, which will keep people safe. case in point is the a permitted excavation and demolition job begun friday morning by my next- door neighbor, a licensed contractor, who repeatedly performs work without permits. i immediately reported this by phone to the dbi complaint line, to the district inspector, and finally an e-mail to inspector lowry and a director. no one got back to me or ask about the jack hammering i

referred to. on monday, there were still no response from dbi, so i called cal-osha and they came right out and examined the exhibitio . he told me he allowed concrete to be poured yesterday. they have not yet ruled on a violation. after my third call to dbi, i did see a building inspector at the site, but i do not know what transpired other than the work continued yesterday. now, 17 hours after the cement was poured, this project has moved at warp speed. there's no job card completed for this work because there's no permit, no plans, no inspection. dbi has no system of checks and balances to identify and then to stop rogue contractors who

routinely work without permits. how can a concerned citizen get the attention of the building inspection senior staff to put safety first? what word must i say in a completcomplete to staff to geto respond immediately? a change of the name is worthless. it includes treating the concerned citizens with the respect we deserve by requiring staff to acknowledge and to respond to our serious complaints. what will you do as commissioners to change this issue in the department beyond just changing the department's name? i was just speaking to the deputy director and he informs me that the department will be out there today and will act. i'm very pleased to have the update for you. i am now going to provide you with copies of the e-mail that i sent on friday to initiate the

investigation by the department. vice president mar: thank you. >> thank you very much. >> good morning. my name is joseph butler. i have been a registered architect in california since 1983. i am currently being renewed. i would like to bring your attention today to the rear of 2514 23rd ave. this is the excavation for the stair in question that she just addressed. when we go down into that garage, you can see that these two by 12's, which were delivered for shoring -- this is a vertical face and these are

horizontal shoring. there's no permit for this estivation -- estivation. suspend, canceled. page two, expired, complete. we have not had a completed permits since 1989. prior to that, in illegal addition was made to the back of the house. notice that the violation had been served. abatement hearings never quite happened. i'm thinking that the complaints are going into a round file. i made one last year and have never been called to a hearing. here we have a contractor who is working with impunity without permits. if cal-osha cannot stop him and dbi cannot stop him, why do we even need permits? i think it is easier to require him to get one than to figure out a way to make the city safe if no one has to get one.

can we spend a little time so we do not have to come back in a month and tell the same story? i have been working with nancy for more than one year. i've never seen such a bad set of plans as what was submitted in 2010 by this building owner/ contractor. the drawings were inconsistent from sheet to sheet. they were signed by an engineer who may or may not have ever seen the plans. some of the plans were photocopied from an earlier set. there's a problem at 23rd ave. the deeper you dig -- he digs -- the more we might find out. it's too late for a slap on the wrist. this has been going on for nine years. the property was bought in 2002 and he immediately began structural work in the house. they did kitchen work without permits. there have been new gas lines without permits. i'm sorry, but the director in

this room stood on the deck, -- of the one permit that was completed. now they're trying to reach satisfy the needs with a new arrangement, but they do not have a permit. vice president mar: thank you. >> good morning, commissioners. my name is robert witt. i have something i would like to distribute. good morning, commissioners. i'm a resident of district 10. i wanted to talk about something that often gets very good lip service in media outlets, but

does not get much action. the disparity is very large. it is residential blight. last week, i attended a ribbon cutting ceremony for a model block on the newton ave. two blocks away from that is a property that has had multiple complaints since 2007 -- all of which have gone through re- inspection, but they never seem to go any further than that. the packet i give you is photographs i took from around a febay view. it contains complaints. these complaints have never been model blocks and going through and improving quality of life, then it has to be more than an inspector coming out and re- inspecting time and time again, or director's hearings or

notices and never any action that follows that. it is not something that is new. it is clearly something that has been going on for years and years and years. i have sent e-mails out. i have spoken with commissioner walker. i sent e-mails to all the commissioners. it needed to be brought to your attention that this blight continues. homeowners get away with it. property values of neighboring homes drop. there is an issue here and it starts with the commissioners. it starts with the inspectors. something has to happen. i wanted to make sure it was said. that is simply what i wanted to do today. hopefully, if you have any questions, the information is there. i was able to access it. i was able to walk to these

properties and see that things were not happening. for the most part, you can look at the pictures and see that nothing has happened. homeowners, they do not care. people have to live with this. they invite drug use. they invite alcohol abuse. there's a photo of some squatters that moved into an empty lot. on a daily basis, you can see dpw street cleaning trucks drive by to clean up the debris that people assume they can just leave. no one is there. thank you for your time. vice president mar: excuse me, ? >> no, i am just a community resident.

vice president mar: ok. >> hi. good morning, commissioners. my name is jose morayou have rer complaint. i have complained for several years that the commissioners -- the department of building inspection -- you do not seem to care. i have requested justice and i have had justice delayed and justice denied. thank you to the new people. i have been complaining for more

than two and a half years. nothing is happening. i want a hearing. i want them to do an investigation, a complete investigation. the commissioners, as far as i know, there's been no investigation. i have done [inaudible] asking questions, why can't you do the same to find the truth? i'm here today to keep complaining that dbi, bic, et cetera, are unfair to me. i have said many times, as i

have said today, justice delayed is justice denied. anyone of you, including the deputy city attorney here -- have you done any research or any investigation? vivian day has given new her information and it is not complete. i want an investigation by the city attorney, i repeat, and the report of the commissioners. i have just 30 seconds to show you that this was the problem. there were two units, 572 and 572 a.

the plan in 2002 was to have an additional units on the third floor , 674. this unit was never built. this is already a violation. how can we have this recognized as a real number? thank you. vice president mar: any other public comment? i just wanted to thank all the people that appeared for public comment. you should know that sometimes we cannot fully discussed these issues because they're not on the agenda. that does not mean they will not be and dicgendized in the futur. that is kind of the process the commission is run. they may be under our jurisdiction, but they may not

be. i wanted to thank the people that appeared. i know it takes a lot of time. i want to a dog to everybody who spoke today -- i want to acknowledge everybody that spoke today. >> concession and possible actions to approve the director of building inspections professional committee memberships. >> good morning, vice president mar and commissioners. i have to request approval to serve on any committees that are outside the purview of the city and county of san francisco. i have been asked to serve on the state code committee, the access committee, which is the disable access committee, and the emergency preparedness committee. i have been asked to be vice chairman of that committee for the california building association. i've also been asked to be a board member for the county

building officials for california. i'm asking for your permission or approval to do this under the charter requirements. most of the committee meetings are held via teleconference. there's a general meeting held once a year were all the committees meet in conference and that is a one day to two-day conference in business meeting. vice president mar: any other questions or comments from the commissioners? >> is this an annual request? >> the appointments are annual appointments, yes. commissioner lee: who requests these appointments for you? is it a state official that invites you to these committees?

>> usually at the conference is you are asked by various members of the committee if you would be willing to serve on the committee. vice president mar: an action item. commissioner walker: i think we need public comment. vice president mar: is there any public comment on this agenda item? >> the woman is guilty of malfeasance in her director position. how could you allow her to do other work? this is completely preposterous. i recommend you do not allow her, allowing her to pay more attention to her current job duties. thank you. vice president mar: commissioner walker? commissioner walker: i move we approved the participation of our director in the state why discussion about building code issues and approve the

recommendations as put forward. commissioner lee: second. vice president mar: there's a motion on the floor that has been seconded. >> commissioner walker? >commissioner walker: yes. >> commissioner lee? commissioner lee: yes. >> commissioner murphy? commissioner murphy: no. >> four to one. thank you. item six. report on the progress for setting standards for gray water systems, including permit approval for dbi and coordination with the puc. >> good morning, commissioners, vice president mar.

chief plumbing inspector, san francisco. i've been asked to come and speak as part of rainwatgray wa. i have been working with the puc for the past two years now, incorporating a manual for homeowners, customers, contractors that want to start installing the re water systems. one of the things i have right now is a draft that explains how systems are to be installed. it with dbi and the plumbing department, we realized it is expensive to do the systems. one of the things in the manual is the type of plan check of the type of systems that are installed, due to the fact that we have properties that are one on top of another. planchette is one of the important things to have done tree will save contractors,

homeowners money and time before they obtained a permit or start to do any type of work, so they know they can do these systems. we're looking to make this as safe as possible. the water going from a gray water system, unfortunately to a neighbor's property to the top of ground you have or the type of layout you might have done. we like to know exactly what is coming forward and make it easier for the applicant, so they know exactly what they are getting into. we would be able to identify these types of projects, so we have been working with them, for like a said, over two years. i have been with gray water for four or five years now knowing that it is coming forward. one of the biggest concerns we have as well is the types of systems. where they are putting it, how they are putting it. we want to be there for the health and safety of the people.

we want to be the leading forces say that we are here to help you and make this as easy as possible. we are all behind it 100%. we just want to see if it can come forward and be easy. if you look at the handout you have now, it is basically telling you everything. little snippets of what is being done in the manual that we have been working on with the puc. it shows different systems, different requirements, what we are expecting at dbi, what puc is putting out there as well and how we're planning to help them. one of the biggest things that will help everybody would be plumbing plan check for especially these types of systems. it will make a lot easier for everyone and save everybody, like i said before, time and money. commissioner murphy: last time you brought it up, there were some issues with the device. the washing machine pumping the gray water out.

>> one thing that is actually in the code is the gray water for laundry to landscape. that was in the newspaper the other day of somebody will put one of those in. it shows how you take from the laundry as a single pipe. there's no cutting into the plumbing system, a changing of any piping. that is already installed. all that stays there. then you have the three-way valve, and that takes it directly to the landscape. that is not permanent. we do not see those. because it has no typing that is being cut into. no new installation of piping that would require it. those we do not see. anything else beyond that -- permits, inspections, engineers dams, gaea tech -- geotech -- it is required. commissioner murphy: it is still voluntary. it is not mandatory.

then i guess, it is voluntary. if you would like us to look at the systems you are installing, they can come down and get a permit, have thus look at it, or if they would like to come in and show us the plans they are planning to do before they do it and get our input of what it is a great system or whether it will work in the location, more than welcome. commissioner murphy: does it require an additional permit? >> if they are coming into the office and speaking to the plan checker, i am assuming -- i not know if there would be a fee associated with that. that is not there yet, so i cannot tell you, but if they wanted to have someone go out and inspect the installation of a contractor somebody hired, then, yes, they would have to get a permit. commissioner murphy: what is really driving this or bringing this on is the leaking of water into a neighbor's property or the downhill side? >> you are getting more of a concern from next-door neighbors that are seeing gray water systems being installed to a

neighbor's house that might be on a hillside, or even on flat ground, and they are getting watered intruding into their basement unit, their own unit into the carriage -- the garage, and they do not know where it is coming from. we send somebody out for a complaint, and we are looking at the sanitary systems, so we d oe leak could be coming from. if we do not know that they have a laundry to landscape and it is not saturated at the time we go out there, finding that type of leak knowing it is there is really difficult to do. i spoke with the health department in this regard, and they say they go out as well and do a sample test. problem is the sample test is going to show laundry detergent, dirty water, could show anything. that is kind of the same thing you would get out of a sanitary system. then knowing exactly where it is coming from as well gets a little complicated. commissioner lee: how much would it cost -- what is the estimated

cost for having a soil report? >> i do not know. i could not tell you. commissioner lee: we do not know how much the fees are just yet? not the soils reports, for a permit fee. >> for a basic kermit, it is going to be -- i want to say $165 for a basic premise. i will say bathroom to landscape project. it would be a $160 permit. commissioner lee: ok. do we have an estimate of what the installation costs maybe? >> that all depends on who is doing it. if you are hiring a plumber, doing it as a homeowner, it all depends on what you're using for materials, the type of landscape you are doing, planning, everything else. >> the kit that the puc is

providing for homeowners to install themselves, do we know how much those cost? >> again, i have no idea. that is something i just found out about a few days ago. i know that they are having a meeting for a workshop and in the workshop, they are going to show exactly what is going on. commissioner lee: what i am leading toward is i hate to see this new project get too costly for homeowners to take advantage of. right now, i anticipate soil reports could cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars. >> there are certain things in here that may sit in the soil is not exactly what you have in that area. we can use that data, and it makes it easier and less expensive. also, that is one of the reasons why we were talking about having a plumbing plan check for the

systems to have someone talk to was first. i know certain areas throughout the city myself, telling as you can have it in these locations, because of the water tables, the high tables, and that type of thing. commissioner lee: ok, so there would be some areas where you would say, "this is what we know?" >> there is just no way to do those types of systems because that ground is already being saturated. you would not be able to take that gray water to the ground. it will not work. that is one of the reasons why coming to see us before you went to spend that kind of money might make it easier. did not need a soil report, they did not need to install those, and everything was fine. commissioner lee: if you put the burden on the home water to get the report, it could be a disincentive. >> that is where we're not trying to go. we are trying to make it easier to come forward and show us what

you have, where you are at, where you are located, the type of soil you have, and then we are able to assess where we are at and go from there. if we have no idea, then we will need some kind of report, especially if you're talking certain areas of san francisco that have smaller back yards, smaller lots that want to use certain types of systems. you are going to need more information. you are going to need more information in order to figure out exactly the type of space, the type of bird, the location, where they are sitting at, and everything else. commissioner lee: regarding the neighbors' concerns of having the gray water flowing into their yard, is there a process to keep the neighbors and former of the homeowners request to install something like this? -- to keep the neighbors informed? >> unfortunately, i do not believe so. commissioner lee: maybe ta